Profile of communicable diseases reported under integrated disease surveillance programme from a teaching hospital

Background:

Integrated disease surveillance programme (IDSP) maintains laboratory-based disease surveillance system for epidemic prone diseases in our country. This study was undertaken to analyze the epidemiological profile and seasonal variations of various communicable diseases reported to IDSP over a 5-year period from 2014 to 2018 from our institute.

Methods:

All laboratory confirmed communicable diseases reported under IDSP over a 5-year period were analyzed for their distribution with respect to epidemiological variables, geographical distribution, and seasonal variation.

Statistical Analysis:

Data was entered in MS excel sheet and the results expressed as percentages.

Results:

A total of 3,602 communicable diseases were reported under IDSP during the time period from January 2014 to December 2018. Dengue continues to be the most common reported disease over the years followed by Scrub typhus which had an outbreak in 2018. Furthermore, adult males in the productive age group of 21–30 years are commonly affected by almost all communicable diseases. Seasonal variation was noted in communicable diseases with highest number of cases in the rainy season of October to December in Puducherry as well as a peak in January and June.

Conclusions:

The pattern of communicable diseases that have been diagnosed and reported will prove to be useful in planning appropriate preventive and containment measures in the near future as well as in creating awareness in the community.

Noncommunicable diseases risk factor surveillance: experience and challenge from India

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are reaching epidemic proportions worldwide and in India. Surveillance of NCD risk factors are therefore needed as they could help in policy planning and implementation of preventive measures. This article will focus on the experiences gained, and challenges faced, in conducting NCD risk factor surveillance studies in India. Two major surveillance studies on NCDs were conducted in India - the World Health Organization (WHO) - Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) NCD risk factor surveillance study and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP). The WHO-ICMR study was a six-site pilot study representing six different geographical locations in India with a sample size of 44,537 including rural, peri-urban/slum and urban. Phase 1 of the IDSP was completed and included seven states in India with a sample size of 5000 per state. The NCD risk factor surveillance showed that high prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and obesity in urban areas with slightly lower prevalence rates in semi-urban and rural areas. There are several challenges in obtaining data on NCD risk factors, which include challenges in obtaining anthropometric and blood pressure measures and in assessing tobacco consumption, diet and physical activity. The challenges in field operations include contacting and convincing subjects, creating rapport, tracking subjects, climatic conditions, recall ability and interviewer skills. Success in surveillance studies depends on anticipating and managing these challenges

CONCLUSION

Improving country-level surveillance and monitoring is a valuable step in prevention and control of NCDs in India.